


Gentle Sins

by theonlyreason



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M, Muke - Freeform, Religion, Sexual Content, artguy!luke, calum has a lowkey crush on ashton, it gets really sad because i just really love sad, lgbtactivist!michael, michael and luke meet at gay pride march au, musicguy!michael, not by luke tho, pastorskid!luke, scratch that calum has a high key crush on ashton, trigger warning: may have extreme homophobia and homophobic slurs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-06 05:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4209846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonlyreason/pseuds/theonlyreason
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"[But] there will always be something more, something bigger, something we want but we are so </i>so<i> terrified to have."</i></p><p>
  <i>"Each other."</i>
</p><p>  <b>AU where Luke gets dragged to a gay pride march, and that's where he meets Michael. And that's when things start to matter.</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> due to recent events (YAY USA!), i happened to join and support a gay pride march a few days ago, and of course, i thought of muke. tell me what you think? :D

_**“No Master or King / When the ritual begins / There is no sweeter innocence / Than our gentle sin.” - Take Me To Church, Hozier** _

It was a few hours before the parade started and Luke and Calum were lined up at the registration booth, where the people behind the table were handing out free condoms. Luke studied the crowd. They were colorful. Lively. Happy. That made him happy. He could tell everyone was excited. So was Calum. He’d been looking forward to join the march for months, and today, he was wearing a white shirt with the words ‘LOVE IS GENDERLESS’ he asked Luke to write. Luke was carrying a handmade poster that read ‘GAY RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS’ in bright rainbow colors that he and Calum worked on days ago.

Although Calum promised him that his parents would never suspect he was supporting the procession, he still couldn’t stop feeling jittery.

“Will you relax?” Calum shoved him lightly, a grin creeping on his face. “I told you. Your parents are probably hiding in a bomb shelter right now. No offense, Luke, but your parents are homophobes.”

“None taken,” Luke said under his breath.

“Look. Have you seen how many these people are? Even if they decided to walk out the street and complain about how all of this is fucking wrong, which they probably will, I doubt they would even catch a glimpse of you.”

“See, this is why I never let you have dinner at my place,” Luke chuckled as they reached the booth to sign their names, each of them getting a condom.

“Can I have one more?” Calum asked, unflustered. Sure enough, the woman complied with a smile. They wedged themselves in the crowd and Calum turned back to Luke. “Sorry, dude, but I wouldn’t want to have dinner at your place either. Last time I was there, your Dad kept talking shit about how being gay is a sin and that neither of us should let the demon possess us like that. If he finds out one of us already is possessed, can you imagine the burial ceremony he’s going to give me?”

“Good point. Remind me next time that my house is never an option.”

Being a pastor’s son was never easy for Luke. All of the things Luke did weighed heavily on his Dad’s job, and joining a gay pride march wasn’t exactly what his parents had in mind for him. But Calum was right. What his father preached at the dinner table three years ago left a scar on his best friend, and for those three years, he felt nothing but guilty that he didn’t stand up for him. For instances, a) It was at the dinner table, and it was disrespectful to talk back in front of a meal; and b) It was his Dad, he would never raise his voice to his dad. Now that Luke was standing around a group of spirited LGBT supporters, he was determined to make it up to his best friend.

“There he is!” Calum hissed, gripping onto Luke’s shoulder tightly until he let out a yelp.

“What? Who?” Luke asked, flexing his shoulder. “Man, that hurts.”

“Ashton,” Calum said, trying to hide his smile. Luke followed the direction of his eyes and saw a boy with unruly locks of hair, sitting on top of a parade car. Calum waved and the boy caught his eye, signaling him to come over. “Come on!”

Before Luke could say anything, he was already being dragged near the van. “Hey!” Ashton greeted them, hauling the two of them up the roof.

“I brought Luke with me, we went to high school together.” Calum said, patting Luke’s chest.

“Aw, now I’m jealous,” Ashton teased. “Hey, I’m Ashton, nice to meet you.”

“Did you start this thing?” Luke asked curiously.

Ashton looked down at the enthusiastic crowd and smiled proudly. “Yeah, sort of. It’s me and my friend actually—”

“Hey, pull me up!”

The three of them look down to see a boy with bright red hair, holding a rainbow flag and a megaphone. Ashton set his arm down and heaved the boy up, his toned arms evident. Luke could feel Calum turning red.

“Him, actually.” Ashton continued where he was cut off as soon as he lifted the red-haired boy up the roof.

“What about me?”

“The march,” Luke said. “Congrats on the success.”

Michael looked around as if he was seeing it the first time. “Yeah, it’s crazy. Me and Ash have been planning for a whole year.” He looked back at Luke and offered his hand, “Michael, by the way.”

“Luke,” he said, taking Michael’s rough hands. He left it there for a few more seconds before Ashton took the megaphone from Michael’s hand and turned it on.

“Let’s start, shall we?”

The event kicked off with dozens of rainbow-hued Gay Pride flags and banners and balloons. Everyone was in good spirits— the complete opposite of what Luke’s home is. Calum and Ashton were at the front of the roof as they sat down with shoulders slightly brushing. Michael had his back turned from Luke, playing with the megaphone as he smiled at the colorful marching band and the howling of the people.

Michael looked back from his shoulder and tilted his head for Luke to join him. “So,” Michael started as soon as Luke crawled his way comfortably beside him. “Would it be rude if I asked if you were gay?”

Luke laughed, shaking his head. “No. Although, I’m not sure if I have an answer to that yet.” It was true. Luke wasn’t sure what his sexuality was yet. Sure, he liked girls, but something in his gut tells him he liked boys, too. _“Questioning,”_ Calum had told him once. He even took those pathetic online quizzes and they were all giving him the same results.

“Nah, it’s cool.” Michael nodded. “I didn’t know what my sexuality was until I was like 15.”

“Really?”

“Bi,” he stated. “I had girlfriends before and I liked them and all but I didn’t know I was actually bi until after I realized I was beating my dick to gay porn.” Luke couldn’t stop the laugh escaping from his lips and put his hands up his mouth. Michael shut his eyes tightly as his face faintly turned red. “Sorry, too much?”

“I’m good.” Luke nodded, failing to hide the smile forming in his lips.

Michael pointed a finger at him, “Quit it.”

The two of them chuckled but neither broke their gaze as Calum called the two of them. “Hey!” Calum said, hitting Luke with a balled up flag. Luke snapped back and looked back at Calum. “You two wanna join us for lunch tomorrow?”

“Sounds good,” Michael nodded casually, answering for the two of them. “I’ll need your number with that,” he said to Luke.

Luke felt his stomach turn, but he nodded as Michael took his phone out and handed it to him, typing his number. “Thanks. I’ll text you, tell it’s me,” he nodded, putting his phone back in his pocket.

The event ended at 8 o’clock in the evening, the four of them bidding their goodbyes as Michael and Ashton were to stay until the area was completely unoccupied. As soon as Calum gets in the passenger seat, he gave Luke a teasing smile.

“Will you quit that? It’s annoying me.” Luke shut the door, starting the car.

“You like him, don’t you?” Luke gave out a heavy sigh, smiling as he slowly backed the car up, never answering the question. Luke guessed he may have liked Michael, but he can never know. He’s known him for less than a day. But tomorrow, it would give him more time to know him better, and that made him get a weird sinking feeling in his stomach. As soon as they reached Calum’s house, Calum gave that knowingly teasing smile again, “Excited for tomorrow?” _Yes,_ Luke thought.

“Out,” he said before Calum could finish his sentence. Calum lets out a laugh, unbuckling his seatbelt as he got out the car. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Hey, Cal!” Luke called out, rolling the window down. “Should I pick you up?”

“I have work. I’ll catch up on the restaurant. Sounds good?” Calum said, stooping at the open window. Luke nodded, giving a small wave goodbye.

As soon as he got home, his Mom opened the door before him with pursed lips. “Where have you _been?_ ”

“Mom, I told you, Calum asked for help at work,” he said it in his best i-hope-i-don’t-get-caught voice. Luke was a bad liar so he really couldn’t tell if he was already sweating so much, he’d give himself away. Surprisingly, it worked.

“I was just about to cook dinner, your father will be home any minute.”

“It’s okay, mom. Cal and I went out for pizza and I’m really full.” Luke went over and kissed his mother on the cheek and went up the stairs before she could say a word. He slumped down on his bed, fishing for his phone in his pocket. There was a text from an unknown number. Luke felt that familiar sinking in his stomach.

_“Hey! thanks for being a part of the event. that really means a lot :) -Michael”_ he read.

He felt honored at first, until he thought that maybe it was a group message sent to everyone who went to the march. That disappointed him a bit. But before he could respond with a formal reply, he received another text:

_“P.S. I’ll see you tomorrow?”_

Luke could feel his face hurting from smiling too much, he had to purse his lips and beg himself to keep it together. Keep it together, Luke.

_“I’d love that :-)”_ Luke replied, leaving his phone on his bedside as he slid inside his sheets. Maybe Calum was right. Maybe he did like Michael.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! hope you like where this is going :D tell me what you think

Luke didn’t see any familiar faces when he first entered the restaurant, which was unsurprising for him because his father raised him to be punctual at all times. He chose the table nearest to the window and sat down, sending a text message to Calum to let him know that he was already there. He brought out his Moleskine notebook, scribbling down faces of strangers that walked by to pass the time. That, and to help ease his tension.

Luke didn’t even know why he was feeling so anxious. He had spent the last two hours circling around his room, looking for something he thought would look decent for a day out. But really, part of him just wanted to have a good impression on Michael.

“You never told me you could draw.”

Luke turned, flipping his notebook shut by instinct at the sight of Michael. He shook his head. “I’m not that good.”

There he was, wearing a baseball tee that hugged tightly at the right places, hands in his pockets. Michael nodded at the seat across him, “Mind if I?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course,” Luke replied. He dragged the notebook near the window, keeping it as distant as possible as if Michael may just have the right mind to snatch it. Luke didn’t exactly know what he was so afraid of. It wasn’t just an act he pulled specifically on Michael. He never showed the notebook to anyone, not even Calum, although Luke would occasionally help him with his work in art class (sometimes, Calum was just so bad, he’d do it himself.) At that point, Calum already reassured him that he was a great artist.

“Sorry, did I offend you?” Michael asked.

“No,” Luke shook his head quickly. “God, no.” He felt bad for making Michael feel bad about the situation, but still, he was awed by the fact that he took the time to ask if he offended anyone. _How could this boy be real?_ he thought to himself.

Before either of them could say anything, Luke’s phone rang. It was a text from Calum saying he wasn’t able to make it because he couldn’t sneak out of work. “Calum just ditched,” Luke told Michael. “He couldn’t leave work.”

“Well, that’s a let down,” Michael huffed, dialing on his own phone. Luke assumed that he was calling Ashton. “Hey,” Michael said. Luke could hear the voice murmuring from across the table with Michael’s _uh huh’s_ and _yeah’s_. “Alright,” he said, hanging up the phone. Luke raised an eyebrow at him.

“Not that I’m complaining but…” Michael started. “We’ve just been set up.” Luke’s took in a deep breath, closing his eyes. The thought of Calum snickering to himself at work (if he actually _was_ at work) made him give in to a short smile. _That fucking dick_. When he looked back at Michael, he was shaking his head with a smile on his face, too.

“Wanna get out of here?” Michael asked.

“Do I ever.”

* * *

Michael knew the perfect place to bring him. Luke had probably asked him at least a hundred times for the last 10 minutes as they walked through a series of greeneries and parks, but he didn’t give anything away, occasionally replying with _“You’ll see,”_ and _“We’ll get there.”_ When they drew nearer to the place, he looked back at Luke with a grin on his face. “Hey, will you close your eyes for one second?”

“That depends. Are you planning on murdering me?”

“If I say no will you do it?” Luke laughed, but closed his eyes anyway. Michael offered his hand until he realized Luke couldn’t even see, so he grabbed it cautiously. He felt Luke tense for a second before he relaxed at the uncommon feeling of touching each other’s hands.

“No peeking.”

“Are you reaching for your axe now?” Luke asked with shut eyes.

Michael pinched him a little too hard until he yelped and flinched. He led him up the hill carefully as Luke gripping him tightly. When Michael finally reached his spot, he slowly let go of his hand. “Alright, open.”

As soon as Luke fluttered his eyes open, his mouth slightly dropped open, taking in the sight that overlooked their small town. “Wow,” he muttered in complete amazement.

Michael looked at the view with him, admiring the familiarity of the landscape. “Yeah.” When he turned his head back to Luke, he was still taking the place in.

“This is beautiful,” Luke finally said. “It’s like… It’s like it’s giving me this sudden urge to.. to like.. It’s…” Michael chuckled at him getting lost for words.

“To draw?” Michael suggested, and Luke nodded sheepishly. “That’s how I feel too… Like, well, if I _could_ draw, you know?”

“I’m not as good as you make me sound,” Luke shook his head.

“I just thought you might’ve needed inspiration,” Michael shrugged. “What’s that thing called? Like a writer’s block, but for people who draw. Drawer’s block?”

“Artist’s block,” Luke smiled.

“Hey, I was close.”

“Sure you were,” Luke teased. He stared back at the view downtown, like he was looking for something. He turned back to Michael, pointing at something. Michael followed his gaze. “That’s my Dad’s church.” Michael looked back at him in awe, his mouth dropping open like the first time Luke saw the view from up the hill. “Your dad’s the—”

Luke shook his head, cutting him off. “It’s not that special.” His eyes were still glued to the horizon.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Michael asked curiously. In their town, church was a _huge_ deal. Being a pastor’s kid was _not_ not special. He figured Luke wasn’t one to boast, of course he wasn’t. Michael could sense that. But PK’s were treated with high respect and everyone in town would know them. They were like local celebrities. Michael wasn’t a religious guy, and neither were his parents. He never bothered to find out, he never went inside a church, he never read a Bible, much as know what it means. But he was raised never to force his beliefs on other people. He respected it. He liked the idea of people believing in something. He just didn’t know what to believe in himself.

“It never came up,” Luke shrugged.

“What, you think I still wouldn’t have hit on you if I knew?” Michael asked. Luke turned his head back to Michael, a smile forming while his face reddened. Luke didn’t respond. Instead, he sat down on the scratched bench, bringing his Moleskine out. Michael sat on the far end of the bench, watching him— his brows furrowing slightly, the tip of his tongue poking out as his hand glided effortlessly across the paper. Luke would sneak glances back at Michael and smile. It didn’t take long for Luke to finish his work, ripping the page delicately and handing it over to Michael.

“There,” Luke said to him with a smile. “It’s not my best because I was in a hurry but…” he trailed off.

Michael looked at the piece of paper. His outline was nice. He was _really_ good, it almost looked like he actually tried his best when Michael knew he looked so painless and uncomplicated while doing so. He traced at the edges, accidentally smudging it. “Shit,” he muttered.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you about the ink. It takes them a few minutes to dry up,” Luke explained. “I can make you a new one—”

“No,” Michael cut him off, his hand resting on the top of Luke’s. “I think it’s good.” He watched as Luke stood up from the bench.

“Come here,” Luke said, motioning him to get up, so he did. Luke stepped closer to him. Michael’s thoughts were running wild on the idea that Luke was going to kiss him. Instead, Luke grabbed the paper in his hands, folding it small enough to secure it inside the pocket of Michael’s jeans. “There.” The space between them was so little, if either of them moved a few inches, they’d actually be kissing. And Luke was making it so hard for Michael now that he was licking his lips.

Michael looked away, clearing his throat as he took a step back. Luke backed a few steps himself. “Well this was a well-spent day,” Michael said.

“It is. But that doesn’t stop me from killing Calum.”

Michael’s shoulders bounced lightly through his laughter. “Hey,” he called out to him. “What do you say about coming over to my place for dinner?”

* * *

“Are you sure I’m welcome here?” Luke asked skeptically, stopping at the front of Michael’s house.

“Don’t be pathetic, of course you are,” Michael said.

“What if your mom asks me all these weird questions? I wasn’t prepared for stuff like these.”

Michael grinned widely at him, fascinated by the idea. “I can assure you that won’t happen.” He practically had to drag Luke to the front door, opening it to find his Dad watching football on the couch.

“Hey, Dad. I brought a friend.”

“That sounds mildly fascinating, son.” Daryl smiled, motioning them to come inside.

Michael turned to Luke, introducing the two of them to each other. “Dad, this is Luke. Luke, my Dad, just call him Daryl, he doesn’t mind.”

“Michael would know,” his Dad muttered, giving him a light, good-natured smack on the temple. “But yeah, call me Daryl.”

“This is a lovely house,” Luke said, looking around in awe.

“Thank you. Wes and I worked hard for 18 years for all of this. I was thinking it paid off, and you may have just confirmed it.”

“Wes?” Luke asked. Before Michael could respond, Wes was already walking out from the kitchen.

“Well, who’s this young man?”

Luke turned to Michael questioningly, his eyes squinting slightly and his mouth opening as if he wanted to ask something but no words were forming.

“Luke, this is Wes. My… Dad #2,” Michael said slowly, waiting for Luke to pick up with where he was going.

“Oh, so I’m Dad #2? I see how it is,” Wes teased Michael. “It’s okay, son, we get that a lot,” he said to Luke, who looked embarrassed for being so surprised. “Are you staying over for dinner?”

“I’m not taking no for an answer.” Daryl pointed at Luke.

“Dad, don’t scare him.” Michael set his father’s hand down as he faced Luke. He was hopeful for a ‘yes’ as well.

“If that’s okay with you guys,” Luke replied timidly.

“Of course! You just stay put, okay?” Wes said, heading back to the kitchen as Daryl followed. Daryl made a small gesture of pinching Wes’ butt cheek, followed by Wes’ playful slap on his hand. Luke noticed, smiling at the healthy relationship Michael’s parents had.

And when he turned his head to his friend, Michael was smiling at him too. “What’s so funny?” Luke ribbed him jokingly.

Michael shook his head, dodging Luke’s attempt, as he laughed quietly. “C’mon, I’ll show you my room.” Luke followed Michael up the stairs, his eyes keeping track with the picture frames attached to the wall, some of just Wes and Daryl who were both wearing school uniforms who were both at a young age, and some of them grown with baby pictures of Michael. “Oh, God. Don’t. That’s embarrassing.”

“That’s cute,” Luke chuckled. “You’re cute,” he blurted out. Luke mentally hit himself in the head for that one. Michael laughed at the comment, pushing open a door that Luke could only assume was his room.

“It’s not the cleanest, so I apologize in advance.”

Michael wasn’t being modest, it _was_ pretty messy, but Luke didn’t mind. Luke fixated his eyes on the hand-cut posters stuck to the wall of rock bands that seemed too loud for his taste, but he managed a smile. “You’re not bad an artist yourself,” he said.

“Oh shut up,” Michael’s cheeks flushed.

“What? I’m not kidding,” Luke urged. “So what, you’re like a music nerd?”

Michael scoffed, laughing. “Says the nerd who could draw.” Michael watched Luke run his hands over to some of the posters: Green Day, My Chemical Romance, The Used, Taking Back Sunday, A Day to Remember. Luke smiled. He found a sense of contentment in knowing that there was more to Michael than his red hair and his gruff hands. “Hey,” Michael’s voice was faltered. Luke dropped his hand and turned his head back to Michael, waited for him to say something. “Sorry for blindsiding you earlier about my Dads.”

Luke smiled, covering his face with his hands. “I’m so sorry for acting so surprised.”

“No, it’s okay. I was expecting you to.”

“Still.” Luke didn’t take his hands off of his face for a few seconds, but when he did, Michael was looking at him, his eyes piercing through his own. He was opening his mouth to say something, but he sealed his lips back. Luke nodded at him, prodding him to say it.

Michael stuffed his hands in his pockets, his eyes avoiding Luke as they met his shoes. “You know I like you, right?”

Luke could feel the heat rushing through his face, the beat of his heart thumping loudly he was afraid Michael could hear it. He thought he couldn’t be able to say anything, surprising himself when the words “Well you better make a move, then,” came out of his mouth.

Michael smiled.


	3. Three

The next day, Luke didn’t get a text from Michael. He figured maybe Michael realized he didn’t even like Luke to begin with, but that wasn’t true. Luke’s dinner with Michael’s family couldn’t have been better. Although it was Michael’s dads that did most of the talking, he felt welcome. And when Michael was leading him outside the front porch, Luke was really hoping he’d just stop eyeing his lips hungrily and just _kiss_ him.

Instead, Michael had said, “Thanks for tonight. My parents are already more in love with you than I am.” They both knew it was a joke, but still, Michael’s cheeks flushed right after he realized what he said. Luke decided to brush it off.

When Sunday came, Luke was obligated to attend the mass. It’s not like he didn’t want to, it’s just something he knew his parents would expect him to do. So he did. He sat on the front pew with his Mom, the seats exclusively for members of the ministry and family members of the Pastor. Luke listened as his own Dad preached in the front. He had a tight grip to the microphone on one hand and an arm wildly flailing on the other. It was a habit he had trouble getting rid off, even after work hours. That’s why Luke never saw and felt him as a Dad, but more as a Pastor.

Every after mass, the church in their town would have a light breakfast for everyone who attended the sermon. Groups of people were eating away the sandwiches that Luke’s mother prepared, and Luke didn’t really feel like eating, so he slipped out of the room unnoticeably, headed out of the church.

There was a children’s park beside the church, and that was where Luke decided to stay before he would go home and his Dad would talk to him about college and taking up a degree in Theology so he could end up in the same place as his two brothers did. But Luke didn’t want to end up like them. Not that he was against Catechism, he just thought maybe it wasn’t just the Church who was calling out to him.

Just when he reached the park, his eyes caught the familiar fiery red hair and the Pink Floyd shirt and the skinny jeans and the black Converse, rocking himself lightly on the swing with his feet planted on the ground.

Luke felt his heart skip a beat. “Hey,” Michael grinned, his face lighting up at the sight of Luke.

“What are you doing here?” Luke asked, more curious than it meant to come off as rude. Michael didn’t seem to mind.

“Well, I’m no detective but…” Michael said, standing up from the swing. “It’s Sunday, and your Dad’s the Pastor, and I looked up the mass hours, and thought I’d find you here.”

Luke chuckled, shaking his head. “Why didn’t you come inside?”

“I’m not a Catholic.”

“You don’t have to be, just don’t take the Eucharist.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

Luke sighed, trying his best to hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Have you eaten? There’s—”

“Luke, really. I’m good,” Michael said, cutting him off. “I figured that since you told me to make a move, I should at least know where you’d want me to take you out.”

Luke responded with nothing but a hot blush on his cheeks. Michael smiled at the gesture. “Anything. I’ll say yes. Definitely. If that helps.” Luke flushed again.

“Luke? Are you out here?” He heard his mother’s voice from the curve leading to the park. Michael tensed.

“Yeah,” Luke said back quickly. “In a minute.”

“Well, be quick. Everyone’s about to leave.” Thankfully, she didn’t walk up to the park. That eased the two of them. But Luke wasn’t moving nor was he answering Michael’s question. He was just… looking.

“You should go,” Michael nudged, nodding back at the church.

“Oh,” Luke replied. “Oh. Okay. I’ll—”

“I’ll text you later, Luke.” Michael smiled, nodding at Luke and urging him to get back.

Luke felt slightly guilty. He couldn’t text him an apology because he never brought his phone with him to church. His parents always told him it was rude and disrespectful to bring a phone in the place of God, as if one was portraying to put their phone ahead of their Saviour.

Luke wished he was back home, but he never said this out loud. He also couldn’t because he and his parents were already scheduled to attend an ordination ceremony out of town.

Luke couldn’t even focus, while his father would lean into his ear every so often to explain to him about the ceremony. He was well-reminded that this was what the exact same fate his father had in mind for him. Luke only nodded. As soon as he got home, Luke raced to the phone he left in the couch, and sure enough, Michael already texted him that it was no big deal, as if he could hear Luke’s thoughts.

And before he knew it, they were both texting back and forth.

 _“Went to an ordination ceremony earlier after church, I don’t even understand how it works,”_ Luke texted.

 _“These are the words coming from church boy.”_ Michael texted back. Luke smiled.

“Luke? Your phone.” Luke looked up. His father was tapping his fingers lightly on the table while his mother kept her lips pursed.

“Oh, sorry.” Luke apologized, sliding the gadget inside his pocket, not managing to reply with a few dozen _LOL’s_ to mock Michael and his obsession for it. _“I CANT HELP IT OKAY,”_ he texted Luke once.

“Have you looked up the facilities of Winston University yet?” His Dad asked, not looking up at him as he devoured on some mashed potatoes. Luke shook his head, playing with the food on his plate using his fork. “The academic standards are great, topnotch. That’s where Rev Aldrin finished his degree. Remember him?”

Luke nodded. His Dad gets really excited when this was the topic of the conversation. Luke wasn’t really interested, but he tried his best to be. Ever since Luke was young, his fate was already sealed. He was going to be a pastor. Just like his father, and just like his two brothers. What he wanted to be, no one even asked.

His father didn’t even wait for Luke’s reply so he kept talking. And Luke listened half-heartedly.

As soon as he finished his dinner, he went straight up to his room, checking his phone for messages, and sure enough, Michael left a ton.

 _Sorry_  
_are you mad_  
_That was a joke sorry if you took it the wrong way_  
_LUKE_  
_Oh god you’re mad_  
_I’m sorry_  
_Heyheyheyhey_  
_Hey Luke_  
_I REALLY dont think about what I say before I say it_  
_I am sososososososo sorry_  
_Luke :(_

Luke laughed as he scrolled through the messages, getting the idea of teasing Michael more and ignoring him, but he couldn’t help it. _“I was at the dinner table why are you so obsessed with me?”_

It was a funny message before he pressed the Send button. But rereading it made him sound like a complete narcissist. He panicked, hoping Michael wouldn’t take it the wrong way. So this was how we was feeling earlier today, he thought to himself. Then, his phone rings. Michael.

“Hey,” Luke spoke, bringing the phone to his ear.

Michael laughed on the other end of the line, “Thank God.” Luke smiled at the sound of his voice and his breathy laughter. “You good to talk?”

“Yeah,” Luke muttered, setting himself on the bed with his pillows tucked beneath his spine.

“Okay.” Michael’s voice was low and relaxed, and Luke could feel a hint of smile in it. That made him smile himself. “Oh and by the way, those texts earlier today? I really didn’t mind if you ended up actually hating me. Trust me I’d be thrilled to get you out of my sight.”

“Of course you are,” Luke teased. That was how they communicated— teasing. Teasing like they both had a secret, teasing like only the two of them could understand. For some reason, Luke found a sense of comfort in it.

“What? You don’t believe me?” Michael made an exaggerated scoffing noise.

“Oh, I do. I just thought it would be more of in my favor that it is to yours.”

“Shut up, Luke.” Michael laughed. Luke loved his laugh.

The night rolled on like that: both of them talking, laughing. Luke loved listening to Michael talk about _everything_ — from his first tattoo to the first night he held a party at home when his parents were out of town. “I got grounded for like an entire month ‘cause they found a bag of coke under their bed,” Michael whined.

“Really? You couldn't even have hidden it somewhere else?” Luke chuckled, shaking his head.

“Oh shut up, it wasn’t even mine, I don’t know who left it. But yeah, they were so mad. They barely trusted me after that, and it’s been like two years. Said they didn’t want me ending up like my Mom.”

Luke strained. It was unmarked territory, talking about Michael’s mother. He didn’t know what to say, much as how to get out of it. Michael must’ve noticed the tension building up, so he sighed, saying, “You know you can ask about her right? It’s not like I’m hiding her or anything.”

Luke didn’t say anything for a few seconds, nodding lightly, although he knew Michael couldn’t see. He shifted in his position, curling up like a fetus and bringing the phone closer to his ear. The sound of Michael’s steady breathing made him feel like he was lying there beside him anyway. “Have you met her?”

There was a slight pause on the other line. “No,” Michael admitted slowly. Luke nodded again, running his hands over the creases of the sheets. “All I know is she did a hell lot of cocaine when she was pregnant with me. I wasn’t even supposed to find out about that, but apparently, people in town knew, and they told _their_ kids about me. That’s what they called me in school: crack baby. I was the crack baby of Turner Middle School. My parents wanted to sue, but it was no use. ”

Michael told his story as if it wasn’t a big deal and he was just shrugging it off, but Luke stayed silent. “She was from Darby. That was where my dads adopted me. Then they brought me back here in Virginia.”

“Sometimes I still wonder about her though, you know? Maybe… maybe she never wanted to leave me in a plastic bag on the corner of the street in the first place.”

“Michael, you don’t have to—”

“It’s okay,” Michael said casually, Luke could hear him shuffling on the other end. “I wanted to tell you. Just in case I fuck up, I’d have an excuse.” Michael chuckled at his own joke, but Luke didn’t feel like laughing. “So,” Michael sighed. “Tell me your story.”

Luke smiled, shaking his head. “There’s nothing much to tell.”

“Sure there is.”

“I don’t think I can compete against a baby found in a plastic bag.” Michael laughed lazily, a low sexy laugh that made Luke feel tingly. Still, Luke felt relieved that he didn’t go too far.

“Anything,” Michael muttered in a low voice. “Just keep talking.”

So Luke did, although he didn’t exactly know what he was supposed to say. So he talked about how his eldest brother, Ben, was finally a Pastor who moved to the West Coast with his wife, and that he used to send postcards every holiday with a picture of him and Lucy and their dog Denny. Except it was to the wrong address. “So every holiday, two old people would receive a postcard from two random strangers,” Luke chuckled. “They thought it was a fluke the first time, until one day they’ve had enough and mailed it back with a photo of _them_ saying ‘Stop bothering us.’”

Luke didn’t even notice Michael’s steady breathing halfway through the story, figuring Michael fell asleep. Luke shook his head, sighing silently. “Nice,” he mouthed to himself. He took off the phone from his ear to check the time: 2:47AM. They’ve been talking for almost 5 hours. Luke brought the phone back to his ear, saying, “Goodnight, Mike,” before he finally dropped the call, smiling to himself as he hugged the pillow to his cheek and fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Luke didn’t get a call from Michael, but he didn’t seem to mind it that much since Calum invited him to hang out with him and Ashton. Luke declined at first, thinking he’d hate to be a cockblock, but Calum insisted, so he did. Luke hated being a third wheel, so it surprised the hell out of him when Ashton came over Calum’s house with Michael behind his tail.

“Oh shit!” Ashton muttered as soon as Calum opened the door.

Luke glared at Calum but Calum shook his head innocently. “I didn’t plan this, I swear to God,” he said quickly, putting his hands up.

Michael took a step inside and whistled. Luke faced him. “Hi,” Luke said shyly.

“You too, huh?” Michael asked, as equally shy as he was. Luke nodded and rolled his eyes.

The four of them went up to Calum’s room. The three placed themselves comfortably on the cushioned floor, with a box of pizza and chips readied out before them. Calum turned the television on, scanning through his Netflix until they found something decent. “Tangled, really?” Ashton teased.

“Hey, shut up, it was a good movie,” Calum talked back, but he skipped through that quickly.

“Play something that would keep Michael awake,” Ashton suggested, and Calum and Luke laughed. Luke looked at Michael, seeing a hint of a smile across his own face.

“Excuse me, I fell asleep on a movie one time! It was one time!” Michael scoffed, holding a hand to his chest mockingly and pushing Luke off the laid out bed.

Luke shuffled away before Michael could successfully tackle him down. He raised his eyebrow at him teasingly. “Didn’t you fall asleep on me on the phone last night?” Luke could see Ashton and Calum giving each other looks in his peripheral vision. He knew that _they_ knew something was up with him and Michael, but he didn’t care.

Michael raised his hands in defeat. “Fine,” he pointed at Calum. “Give me something that won’t make me fall asleep, and I consider it good.”

Calum snickered, determined to look for a worthwhile film that would keep Michael awake. Sure enough, Michael stayed awake watching ‘Catch Me If You Can’, even asking them to pause it when he needed to pee.

“Man,” Michael said after the end credits rolled, falling down on the cushion. “Leonardo DiCaprio is such a man.”

“Well, he is irresistible,” Ashton agreed, patting Michael on the head. “Congrats on staying awake, buddy.”

“Oh shut up,” Michael said, swatting Ashton’s hand away.

“Hey, there’s a fireworks show tonight. You guys wanna head over to the roof and watch?” Calum asked, turning the television off. Luke grew excited for a moment, but nodded casually as to not give anything away. A fireworks show with Michael didn’t sound so bad.

“Shit, man, I got somewhere to be.” Michael groaned, lifting himself in a sitting position as he scratched his head in a sign of apology.

 _‘Oh,’_ Luke thought to himself.

Michael put his hand up as Ashton went over and hoisted him up to his feet. He looked at Luke. “Luke’s coming with me.”

Luke looked at him questioningly. “What?” Michael gave him a look, tilting his head to Calum and Ashton subtly as if to say ‘ _You’re gonna be one fucking cockblock if you don’t leave.’_ So Luke said, “Oh. Right.”

As soon as Calum led them out the door, he looked at Michael with raised eyebrows. “What?” Michael asked.

“What was that?”

“We needed to leave,” Michael shrugged.

“So what are you going to do?”

“We,” Michael corrected him, “are going to watch some fireworks.”

Luke shook his head in confusion, “Are you nuts? We were just—”

“Alone,” Michael cut him off. “I was.. thinking of watching it with you... alone.”

Luke paused. “Oh,” he said.

“So…” Michael let the word linger a little longer as he planted his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. Luke loved it when he did that. “Know a place yet?”

A small smile crept on Luke’s lips, and Michael looked at him hopefully. “I think I know just the place, actually.”

* * *

“You’re joking, right?” Michael asked, although his face was plastered with an entire grin at the sight of his favorite spot: up the hill with the bench, where Michael first took him.

“I don’t think I am,” Luke replied, seeming amused with his idea. No one else was around the hill to watch the fireworks, and it was getting dark aside from the dim light posts that were lit up. Luke sat down on the grass and lied back.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Something pretty dumb.”

“Then do it with me.”

Michael didn’t respond. Luke feared that Michael ran for his life and pretended he never knew him in the first place, but his worries quickly died down when he felt the brush of Michael’s shoulder against him. “What are we doing?” Michael muttered. Luke could practically hear him smiling, if that made sense.

“Waiting for fireworks,” he replied casually.

Then as if on cue, the first set of fireworks lit up, coloring the skies. Michael pointed to a big one that left trails of silver and gold star-like sparks. “That one’s my favorite.” Luke nodded. “It’s called a Willow. But it’s up against the Crossette, you know that one that like crosses over each other? That one.” Luke smiled and sat up, giving him a mocking look. Michael followed suit. “What?”

“How’d you know all these stuff?”

Michael scratched his head, “I.. uh..”

“You’re pretty smart, aren’t you?”

“It’s just fireworks.”

“You know what I mean.” Luke could see Michael turning red at the subtle praise. “You’re smart.”

“Am not.”

“Oh my god, you are a load of bullshit,” Luke laughed. They were both speaking louder than usual so they could hear each other from the sound of the fireworks.

“Shut up.”

“What are you being modest for? I—”

“If you don’t shut up I’ll kiss you.”

“I’m—” But Michael wasn’t kidding. He grabbed Luke by the face, sealing their lips together, clumsily at first, then Luke shifts forward into Michael’s lap and suddenly it was like two puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly. Michael’s lips felt plump and wet in his own, his tongue hot and rough as he slithered it inside Luke’s mouth. Luke's emotions were in tune with every burst of each firework. It felt perfect. He tasted just like what Luke thought he would, of mint and citrus and salt. Luke had his head slightly tilted down, since he was a few inches taller. He stroked Michael’s hair gently, and they weren’t stopping. And he didn’t care. He was kissing him in Michael’s favorite place in the world, and he’s starting to think it’s his now, too.

Until Michael pulled back, panting. That was when Luke realized that they were both needing air all this time, and he didn’t even mind. Because they were kissing. Luke liked kissing Michael. Michael closed his eyes and smiled, pressing his forehead against Luke’s. “I’ve been meaning to do that for a while.”

Luke nodded slightly, his eyes closed too, keeping their heads pressed against each other while the sound of fireworks fill up the hill. _‘Me too,’_ Luke thought to himself. _‘You have no idea.’_


End file.
